Ek Umeed for poor patients at civil hospital

In Ludhiana Civil Hospital ‘Ek Umeed’, an NGO run by Nikhil Singal Noble trust (regd) is helping those patients who cannot purchase costly medicines and those who are not getting few medicines from the hospital drug store. Ek Umeed has an office within the civil hospital where a pharmacist and a doctor help the patients.

V S Jindal, GM of the trust said, “We provide medicines to needy indoor patients at the civil hospital since May 2008. Till now, 17,796 patients have been benefited by the NGO. Critical patients from civil hospital are shifted to super speciality hospitals, however, only indoor patients of civil hospital and supported and not the ones who have been referred to other hospitals.”

The trust never supports medico-legal cases and help the genuinely poor patients who come only for treatment. In case there is shortage of medicines within the civil hospital, doctors send them to the Ek Umeed office.

Confirming the same Dr R K Karkara, SMO of civil hospital said, “The NGO is having an office within our hospital and their doctor also sits in that office. Our doctors refer poor patients with no medico-legal cases to this office. And at times some hi-end anti-biotics, injections etc which are not available in our drug store are given by the NGO.”

The NGO also provides homeopathic medicines to all patients at charitable homeopathic dispensary at Shimlapuri, which was opened in 2012. More than 15,000 patients have been benefited because of this, said Vinay Singal, managing trustee.

The trust also provides free education to more than 600 students and financial support for vocational and higher education to make them self dependent, said Singal.